Taken
by Mikaela U
Summary: To Toby, it seems like a simple kidnapping, like one he's helped solve before. Then again, is such a violent act ever simple? First Fanfic, and first summary! I promise the inside is much better! Toby/OC
1. Chapter 1

Hello Fanfiction! Like I said, this is my first fanfic, so bear with me! Both comments and criticism are greatly appreciated! I have a very general idea of what I want to happen in this story, so if you have any ideas, I would be glad to hear them. Hope you enjoy!

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"Toby?" Oz called through the glass door, trying his luck with a knock one last time... nothing. And it was harsher than a knock, too! "Tob, I'm coming in." Oz had just turned the spare key in the lock when Toby came stumbling out from his bedroom.

"Oz, what the hell?" Toby mumbled, rubbing a hand over his face.

"McClusky tried to call you, but you didn't pick up." Toby's brain snapped into focus. "They've got a lead."

"Crap. Did she call you?" Toby called over his shoulder as he walked back to his closet.

"Yeah, just now." Oz said. "She said something about a neighbour reporting... something."

"Really?" Toby's head popped around the door frame, shirt in hand. "Anything else?"

"Um I dunno, something you guys overlooked, or..." Oz stopped for a moment, and Toby took the pause to slip back into his room. "I dunno Toby, I was half asleep, and she was talking really fast. Sorry man." With the wall between them, Toby safely rolled his eyes. His best friend sure was useless without coffee. Toby couldn't even piece together the phone conversation from his thoughts.

"It's ok Oz." Toby said as he walked out of his bedroom once again. "Go get some coffee and I'll call you later." He shooed his friend out into the hallway.

"Oh!" Oz exclaimed as he followed him down (to Toby's surprise) the stairs. "She might have mentioned a girl."

"Cassidy?" Toby asked sarcastically, knowing full well she was the name Oz was trying to remember.

"Yeah." Oz confirmed. "But there was something else."

"She's missing." Toby filled in the blanks in Oz's memory. "And we know she didn't run away."

"She was taken?" Oz's voice was a mix of surprise and concern. He stopped as they reached the lobby. "Aw man." He whispered. He didn't even know the girl, but he was already upset. The look on Toby's face as he turned around told Oz all he needed to know. "Find her quick."

"We will." Toby said as he turned once again to leave. There was an air of confidence in his voice that he didn't feel, and of course his friend saw right through it. As the two left in separate directions, a nervous stormcloud of tension hung over them both.

"Hey Michelle, Dev." Toby said hurriedly as he walked into the conference room where they had made camp. Files and pictures were spread all across the long white table. "Sorry for the confusion, it's my fault. I should've stayed here."

"Not your fault, Toby." Michelle said sympathetically. "If you want to blame anyone, blame me. I pretty much insisted you go home and sleep."

Toby exhaled a deep breath through his nose, as if debating whether or not to accept that, but made no further arguments. "So, what did my coffee deprived friend miss on the phone?"

_**7 Days Earlier **_

Cassidy's mental playlist had repeated itself twice now. The little coffee shop had been empty for hours, with only the occasional customer coming in to ask directions. The sugar packets had all been arranged, tables wiped; she'd even had time to wash the windows, but she couldn't sit still.

"Would you calm down?" Allison's comment jolted her out of a particularly good, however old, song.

"Sorry." Cassidy ducked her head as she went to check the cappuccino machine for the third time. "Bad habit."

"You ok?" Allison asked. "You seem a little jumpy."

"I'm fi-" Cassidy was interrupted by the sound of the front door opening. Both girls turned, ready to serve the only soul they'd seen all afternoon. Cassidy's face instantly dropped. Allison noticed, and stepped in front of the younger girl even though they were behind the counter.

"Who are you?" Allison asked guardedly, sizing the man up. He looked to be about 24. His bright blonde and blue features should have given off a friendly feel, but there was something not quite right about him.

"I'm Cassidy's boyfriend," He said. "and I'd-"

"Ex." Cassidy cut him off and stepped out from behind Allison. "Ex-boyfriend. And I told you I never wanted to see you again." Allison was surprised. Cassidy had never once spoken out, let alone stood up for herself.

"Yeah, and I know you didn't mean that." His tone was light, but there was a forcefulness behind it.

"Yeah, I did Jordan. You can't just waltz back in here and pretend everything's ok." Cassidy had had enough. "You lied to me, you cheated on me, and you hurt me. That doesn't just go away with some diamond earrings and an apology."

"I never even told you I cheated on you." Jordan whined. "How can you be sure it's not just your imagination?"

"I just know it's something you would do." Cassidy said sharply. She wasn't about to tell him exactly how she knew.

"Cass." Jordan's tone was now cold. Cassidy saw him coming behind the counter before he actually did, and was ready to defend herself. However, after easily pushing Allison out of the way he managed to get hold of her wrist hard enough to bring tears to her eyes. "Don't be so stupid." Jordan said. "I hurt you before, and I'll hurt you again if you don't do what I want."

"No." Cassidy couldn't go back down that path. "Jordan, it's over. This time I won't hesitate to call the police if you try anything." Jordan glared at her for a moment, but just threw her wrist down hard and stormed out. Allison watched Cassidy closely, but the younger girl barely even breathed for a moment. Clearly shaken up, Cassidy couldn't even bring her eyes up to meet Allison's.

"Allison?" Cassidy whispered.

"Yeah?" Allison responded softly.

"Is it alright if I leave early?" Cassidy asked.

"Sure." Allison said. "And you did the right thing standing up to that creep. Doesn't seem like the right guy for you." Cassidy simply nodded.

_"You have no idea."_ She thought.

Back in the safety of her small apartment, Cassidy lay down on her bed and tried to block out the memory of what had happened. She found it hard to forget, but seeing as how this wasn't the first time, it wasn't surprising. She had lost count of how many times Jordan had done this. They would be doing perfectly fine (granted he was a bit controlling, but she liked that), but then, completely out of the blue, someone would get upset. One of them would call it off, and then a few days later he'd come running back. Two things stayed the same in their sick little cycle. He'd come running back to her every time (and she'd always accept him), and their problems always originated from his drinking. What she meant by that was either he hit her, or she fought back.

Cassidy sighed and sat up on the edge of her bed. The pounding in her head was beginning to rival the throbbing in her wrist, and she couldn't stand it anymore. She had gotten halfway to the bathroom when she heard someone at the door. She rolled her eyes as she went to answer it. She had a feeling it was just the guy down the hall dropping off her mail because the mailman 'delivered it to the wrong box.' She knew she should stop leading him on, but she liked having someone want to pay attention (without hurting her). As she opened the door, the person on the other side threw their weight against it, sending her spinning into the room and crashing to the floor. Cassidy looked up quickly, not quite sure how to face her assailant. To her surprise, she looked straight in to Jordan's eyes.

"Jordan, what are you doing?" She asked.

"Shut up Cas. You're coming with me right now." Jordan said.

"Jordan, don't do this again." Cassidy sighed.

"I said shut up!" Jordan shouted.

"No. I don't have to put up with this anymore." Cassidy tried to keep calm. "You can't tell me what to do."

"Yes. I. Can." Jordan pulled out a knife. "And you should know better than to disobey me." Cassidy looked at Jordan closely, but his anger was real. When he got like this, nothing she could say would calm him, she'd seen it too many times. She chose instead to run into the bathroom so she could put a door between them, but she knew it wouldn't hold for long.

**To Be Continued...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey there everybody! Tis me again! I just want to say thanks to everyone who Reviewed, Favorited and Followed my first story, your support helped me write more! Sorry for the long wait, I've been having a kind of lazy summer so far. And just a heads up, I'm going out west (to the prairies!) tomorrow for a week, but I'll be writing while I'm out there (just not posting...). Not terribly ecstatic about this chapter, but I'll live. Hope you enjoy it regardless!**

**Thanks to AnimeAnime24, Solstice1394, and Neshomeleh for reviewing!**

**Disclaimer: (oops, forgot this last time!) I do not own The Listener. If I did, I'd be in it and Toby would be mine!**

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Toby was in the kitchen making dinner when he heard Oz coming. Of course, Toby didn't hear him physically- for a big guy, he was surprisingly light on his feet -but he definitely heard him mentally. His nervous thoughts washed over Toby's barriers louder than anything his old partner had ever said, or thought, before. Usually Toby could discern most of what was running through his friend's head, but today it was just a solid wall of worry.

"Toby," Oz had barely opened the door when he started talking, thoughts still impossible to decipher. "Toby, you've gotta help me... I'm freaking out... dunno what to do!" He couldn't even voice his confusing thoughts properly.

"Oz, Oz, calm down. Take a beer and a deep breath." Toby soothed, passing him the cool bottle he'd just opened. Oz took it gratefully, and as he took a mouthful he eyed his friend. Toby had always known exactly how to calm him down in a stressful situation, and he always appreciated that. Toby smiled as he heard all that, but his smile faded when the worry crept back into Oz's thoughts. "Ok, now what happened?"

"Friday is my one-year anniversary with Sandy." Oz looked right in to Toby's eyes, his voice dead serious. "Tob, I've been on my laptop all day, but I can't find anything!" Toby's look of concern quickly melted into one of... well, if he had to describe it, he would call it his 'seriously Oz? look'. Oz had received it many times. "I don't know what to give her, or where to take her... Tob I don't know what to do!"

"Seriously Oz?" Toby accompanied his face, and his thoughts with these fitting words.

"What?" Oz asked defensively. "Toby, this is a serious problem." He said after finally noticing Toby's face.

"Alright Oz." Toby said, deciding his friend didn't need any teasing at the moment. Later was, of course, another story. Oz's thoughts had calmed some from the alcohol in his system, and Toby could now clearly tell that he had, in fact, not a single idea. Toby decided to ask, regardless of how endearingly clueless Oz seemed. "Any ideas? Anything at all."

"I dunno, Tob." Oz said. "This is one year, one of the big ones. It needs to be something special."

"Something that shows you know her." Toby finished Oz's thought. He was about to continue when his phone rang, and glancing from the caller ID to Oz's face he sighed. Michelle sure had an uncanny ability to call at the worst time. "Sorry Oz." He said with an apologetic smile as he answered.

Oz took another swig of beer as he watched his best friend's face. Toby's expression went from excitedly curious, to completely devoid of any emotion. It always made Oz cringe when Toby looked like that; it was a clear sign that something was seriously wrong, but he couldn't let Oz know... or maybe didn't want Oz to know. Whichever was the case, Oz was ready to watch his friend bolt out the door. And he did. Leaving Oz, once again, alone with his thoughts. He didn't really mind, though. Toby was clearly in heaven helping the IIB, and hated leaving Oz twisting in the wind. Still, the curious cat inside Oz wished Toby could (and would) tell him about an ongoing case. He hated not knowing where Toby was running off to. Trouble just had a way of finding him.

"Hey Toby." Michelle greeted as her partner slid into the car. In an instant, Toby could feel her stress washing over his barriers. Knowing she wouldn't want him spying, he instantly blocked it out, but could still feel the worry behind the stress. Knowing she would tell him in time, Toby kept his mouth and mind shut.

"Hey Michelle, what's the case?" Toby asked as he shut the door.

"Armed abduction, looks like." Michelle answered. "Victim's name is Cassidy Taylor. Apparently a neighbour down the hall noticed the door to one of the apartments open. Blood on the floor and a broken doorframe says that she didn't go quietly, but we don't know if it's her blood yet." It was short. A little too short of a briefing for Michelle.

"What is it?" Toby asked.

"What's what?" Michelle responded. Definitely too short.

"What you're not saying." Toby could tell she was holding something back, but he couldn't tell what. Michelle sighed, breaking Toby away from his personal debate of whether or not to read her.

"Evidence suggests a sexual assault before the kidnapping." Michelle sounded deflated. "Which means that we'll either find the body somewhere within the next two days, or-" Michelle stopped, and this time Toby didn't hesitate to read her. _"Or he's keeping her because he wants more."_

Cassidy didn't open her eyes at first, afraid of what she might see. She could tell without looking that she wasn't still in her apartment. It was much colder here, and it smelled like burnt wood. The bed she was lying in was hard and rough, but she couldn't move. It wasn't that she didn't want to, all she wanted to do was jump up and run out the door, but she could feel eyes on her. Eyes that suddenly translated into footsteps coming towards the bed. Obviously he knew she was awake. Cassidy curled into herself, wrapping her bound hands around her head, and prepared for the beating that she knew was about to come. But, to her surprise, that beating never came. A gentle hand wrapped around her wrists and gently pulled them up, and the cool metal of scissors brushed against her skin as they cut through the rope. She was about to look up, intrigued by the unexpected kindness, when her hands were roughly pulled above her head and pinned against the bed. This time she opened her eyes, and came face-to-face with the cold eyes of Jordan as he slid on top of her.

"Let me go." She hissed at him. He responded by gripping her wrists tighter with one hand, and caressing her cheek with the other.

"I can't do that, Cass." Jordan's voice was deadly calm. "And you wouldn't want me to anyways." His caress turned into a hard slap.

"Let me go!" She repeated, struggling to get away from him. He was too strong for her, and all that got her was another, harder slap. She screamed at him again, but it was too late, he wouldn't stop now. Her screams and kicks eventually died down to a whimper, and all she wanted to do was roll over and curl up in to a ball. When it was all over, that's exactly what she did.

"Cass, you're home now." Jordan whispered as he slid off her. "We can be together all the time. It's better this way, you'll see." Cassidy held back her tears until he was out of the room.

"Please, somebody find me." She whispered, and in the safety of solidarity, she let the tears flow.

**Oh no! Poor Cassidy! Stay tuned!**

**To Be Continued...**


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